After many discussions internally and a sincere effort to explore the trade market, we made a very difficult decision to use our Amnesty provision on Mike Miller.

Mike had an incredible impact on the Miami Heat; helping us to three finals appearances and winning back-to-back World Championships.

This was a very difficult decision for me personally, the Arison family, Erik and the entire Miami Heat organization.

Mike was one of the best we have ever had here, and will be sorely missed. We wish Mike, his wife Jennifer and their family nothing but the best.

The forward appeared in 59 regular season games (17 starts) with the HEAT last season, averaging 5 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 15 minutes per game.

He has played in 831 regular season games (549 starts) during his 13-year NBA career.

Miller responded to the news on Twitter:

The Amnesty provision allows NBA teams to waive a single player, who still receives a paycheck and still counts against the league salary cap, but the team does not have to pay a luxury tax on the waived salary.

The Heat will still owe Miller about $13 million in salary over the next two years, but releasing him saves $17 million in luxury tax payments, according to ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst.